{"product_id":"9780312276409","title":"The Last City Room: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt's almost a tradition in the city room of \u003ci\u003eThe Herald\u003c\/i\u003e for journalists to collapse at their desks, having worked, imbibed, and smoked themselves into the grave. On these occasions the behavior required by the dead man's erstwhile colleagues - a group of cynical old news hounds with skin the color of faded newsprint - is to applaud, simultaneously hailing their fallen comrade and signaling an opening in the city room. It is in this manner that William Colfax, an ambitious young reporter, earns a coveted position as a staff member of this long-respected newspaper. Colfax accepts the offer mere minutes after his predecessor's body has been carted away. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Last City Room\u003c\/i\u003e depicts the decline of an influential newspaper in San Francisco during the turbulent early 60s. As the conservatism of the old guard, led by \u003ci\u003eThe Herald\u003c\/i\u003e's publisher and his bylined minions, clashes with the radical leaders ascending to power in the city, Colfax quickly realizes that the golden days of \u003ci\u003eThe Herald \u003c\/i\u003eare long over. With his past threatening to ensnare him between the two warring factions, Colfax's struggle quickly becomes one of not simply proving himself as a reporter, but of maintaining his independence and integrity as a journalist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Last City Room\u003c\/i\u003e is a provocative evocation of a time when the carefully modulated social fabric of the country was just beginning to show signs of uncertainty. It is a tribute to the end of a newspaper and the beginning of a new era.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"St. Martin's Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47120843931888,"sku":"9780312276409","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780312276409_p0.jpg?v=1769888215","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780312276409","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}